Monday, 18 April 2011

My most recent go-to for sartorial advice is the Essentials Section of Self Service magazine's blog. Having had a sneak peak into the must-haves of stylish individuals from Sofia Coppola to Emmanuelle Alt, it is clear that to some extent style is synonymous with uniform. When I think of stylish women, from fail safe icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel to more modern taste makers like Phoebe Philo, there exists an underlying connection between them in that all of their outfits (for the most part) subscribe to their respective standardised silhouettes. Take Emmanuelle Alt for example, whose style exhibits and rarely strays from the formula of skinny jeans + impeccably cut jacket + towering heels. Where would Sofia Coppola be without her classic silhouette of black slim fit jeans, Charvet shirt and flats? Even the Queen of Eclectic Anna Della Russo is consistent in that the very definition of her style is in it's strict outrageousness.

I think that in setting yourself certain wardrobe limitations, you come to figure out a true sense of your own style. Shopping becomes more of an enjoyable challenge which in turn makes you consider your purchases more carefully. For example, I am now far more likely to choose an item entirely based on a cut that would compliment the other items in my wardrobe rather than making an on- trend purchase that I will later come to regret. But, most importantly of all, the thing about uniforms is that you come to have a signature look, instantly recognisable as being 'you', which, for me, is the holy grail in an industry dominated by the next big thing.

Saturday, 9 April 2011

It's rare that I post editorials on this blog but I just had to share Géraldine Saglio's feature for the Spring 2011 issue of Vogue Enfants photographed by Matthew Brookes. It makes such a change from the overtly sexualised images seen previously in Vogue Enfants under Carine Roitfeld's editorship. Instead, the styling is on trend, low key and age-appropriate. It's a breath of fresh air in a sea of editorials in which audacious appears to have become synonymous with plain risqué. Alt's plans for a more "feminine vogue" seem to have been accomplished to great effect; the harshness of older Paris Vogue editorials has faded and been replaced with an almost intimate mood, resulting in a magazine that women really want to read.